Two former U-17 world cup winners Nii Odartey Lamptey and Samuel Osei Kuffuor have tipped the Black Starlets to beat Niger in the semi final clash at the U-17 Afcon tournament being held in Gabon.
Ghana are yet to concede going into the match on Wednesday while the Nigeriens have picked four goals so far from their net though they clinched a clean sheet in their final group game against Tanzania, in a match officiated by Ghana’s Daniel Laryea.
The winner of the match, to be played on Wednesday at Stade de Port-Gentil, will play in the final of the tournament, which is in its 12th edition.
The Ghana-Niger game will be the first semi-final of the competition. The other semi-final match to be played on Wednesday will involve defending champions Mali and Guinea.
Speaking in an interview with 3news.com, a former golden boot winner of the competition Nii Odartey said he is not surprised by the performance of the team in the tournament.
“They have done really well having watched their matches against Cameroon and Gabon and they payed really well even in the last match which ended in a draw. I still think they were brilliant.
“I wouldn’t say they have surprised me because I already know the team a little so we should just pray they use this as dress rehearsal for the world cup proper.”
Another member of the 1990 winning team, Samuel Osei Kuffuor, stated that Ghana needs the U-17 more than she needs the Black Stars.
“It’s been very long since we had an U-17 team that has impressed the whole country and me personally I’m glad that we are going on that way because we need the U-17 more than we need the Black Stars”.
While the winners will play in the final on Sunday, the losers will play off in the 3rd place game same day, though earlier.
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